WINTER SERVICE PLAN 2019 – 2020 Streetcare Services Department of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services Reading Borough Council 2-4 Darwin Close Reading Berkshire RG2 0TB Tel No. 0118 937 3787 Email [email protected] October 2019 Winter Service Plan 2019 - 2020 Winter Service Plan 2019 - 2020 CONTENTS Section Page 1. Introduction ............................................................................... 1 2. Policy Statement .......................................................................... 4 3. Client/Consultant/Contractor Relationship ........................................... 5 4. Decision Making ............................................................................ 7 5. Rostering of Supervisory and Operational Staff ....................................... 9 6. Road Hierarchy ........................................................................... 10 7. Footways and Cycleways ................................................................ 12 8. Salting Operation and Salt .............................................................. 13 9. Snow Clearance ........................................................................... 14 10. Grit Bins ................................................................................... 15 11. Plant and Vehicles ........................................................................ 17 12. Operational Communications .......................................................... 18 13. Weather Forecasts ........................................................................ 19 14. Thermal Mapping and Ice Prediction .................................................. 23 15. Media Communications ................................................................. 24 16. List of Appendices ....................................................................... 25 Appendix A: Primary and Secondary Salting Routes ......................... 26 Appendix B: Guidance Notes for Duty Officers .............................. 31 Appendix C: Call Out Guidelines ............................................... 32 Appendix D: Sample Decision Sheet ............................................ 33 Appendix E: Footways - Snow Clearing/Pre-salting .......................... 34 Appendix F: Call Out Facilities ................................................ 36 Appendix G: Grit Bin Locations ................................................ 37 Appendix H: Location of structures to receive ‘double pre-salt’ salting . 39 Appendix I: Winter Service Cross Boundary Arrangements ................. 40 Appendix J: Plan showing salting network, salting routes and locations of grit bins. .......................................................... 41 Appendix K: Circulation List. ..................................................... 42 Appendix L: References ............................................................ 44 Winter Service Plan 2019 -2020 i READING BOROUGH COUNCIL WINTER SERVICE PLAN 2019- 2020 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This document has been produced in association with the documents “Well Maintained Highways” Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance (Published July 2005, revised 2009, 2010 & 2011) and “Lessons learned from the severe weather February 2009” report (revised 2010 & 2011), ‘Quarmby Report’ December 2010 and the ‘Well-managed Highway Infrastructure – Code of Practice’ October 2016, to describe the Council’s proposals for dealing with ice/snow deposits on the highway network over the winter period. It details information regarding the winter service, such as the roles and responsibilities of Reading Borough Council and the joint arrangement with Wokingham Borough Council, its Consultant Volker Highways (Wokingham Highways Alliance) and Winter Maintenance Contractor J H Cresswell and Sons Ltd. 1.2 Roads forming the Primary and Secondary precautionary salting networks are shown in Appendix A. These are the most heavily used strategic roads in the Borough, including the main bus routes and routes to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. 1.3 A winter service will be provided by the Council for 26 weeks of the year, starting on 1st October 2019 and ending on 31st March 2020. The formal winter service with Wokingham Borough Council and their Consultant, Volker Highways, commences on the 1st November 2019. However, as agreed at the pre-winter season meeting, Volker Highways provides an informal weather data monitoring service from the 1st October 2019. Should salting action be required during October, Reading Borough Council will be advised and the Winter Maintenance Contractor, J H Cresswell and Sons Ltd, will be instructed accordingly. Although the formal winter service ends on 31st March 2020, a similar arrangement will be in place to extend the weather data monitoring service to the end of April 2020 if unfavourable conditions persist. 1.4 Precautionary salting of the Primary network (refer to 1.12) and snow clearance on the Primary routes will be carried out based on information received from the weather forecasting service. The Secondary precautionary salting network (refer to 1.13) will only be salted and/or cleared of snow during particularly severe and prolonged hazardous winter weather conditions. The decision to instigate such action will be taken by the Winter Duty Officer based on information received from the weather forecasting service at the time. The primary precautionary salting network is risk assessed and comprises of principal roads, including main bus routes and routes to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Likewise, the secondary precautionary salting network is risk assessed and comprises of the remaining bus route network and roads linking strategic routes. 1.5 Where the Council has been made aware of water being deposited on the highway as the result of an unforeseen incident, for example fire, road traffic accident, burst water main etc, salt shall be applied, during freezing conditions, to reduce Winter Service Plan 2019 -2020 1 as far as possible the effects of frost, ice and other severe winter weather conditions on the highway. 1.6 Where water is being deposited on the highway from a water main and Thames Water is aware of the problem, they will begin to salt the area affected until the issue has been resolved. Thames Water will continue to salt any visible leaks of their own plant whether or not the leak is on a Council salting network. Thames Water provides the Council with a list of known leak sites to be salted by their own contractor. 1.7 Spreading of a proprietary material/grit/salt on Town Centre footways, as detailed in Appendix E, will be carried out based on forecast information received from the weather forecasting service at the time. The decision to spread a proprietary material/grit/salt in the town centre is made and carried out by the Council. 1.8 For Primary and Secondary precautionary salting routes, response and treatment times are 1 hour and 3 hours respectively. This means that the Contractor must commence salting within 1 hour of receiving the winter gritting decision/ instruction and complete all of the salting routes within 3 hours of leaving their depot. 1.9 As the Highway Authority, Reading Borough Council has a legal duty under Section 41 (Clause 1A) and Section 150 of the Highways Act 1980 to remove accumulations of snow, if causing a highway to become obstructed. Roads will therefore be cleared of snow in descending order of priority commencing with the First Priority network as described in Section 9 of this document. 1.10 In accordance with the recommendations of the “Lessons learned from the Severe Weather February 2009” report, the Council has introduced a Contingency Salting Network to cover the prolonged periods and heavy accumulations of snow and national salt shortages as described in 6.5. 1.11 Salt spread rates, where possible, will be adjusted to meet the directives set out as described in the “Quarmby Audit” report and adopted by Highways Authorities in December 2010. 1.12 The Primary precautionary salting network is approximately 118.8 km in length, represents approximately 30% of the total road network and comprises principal roads, including main bus routes and routes to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. 1.13 The Secondary precautionary salting network is approximately 42.02 km, represents approximately 11% of the total road network and is comprised of, the remaining bus route network and roads linking strategic routes. 1.14 There are currently 47 grit bins provided at locations throughout the Borough for public use. The grit bins are maintained by the Contractor and are detailed in Appendix G. The provision of grit bins on the Borough’s public highway network has been reviewed and risk assessed. A grit bin has to achieve a minimum score of 60 points, using the Council’s approved grit bin risk assessment pro-forma, to qualify. 47 grit bins continue to meet this criteria. The grit bins are repaired and Winter Service Plan 2019 -2020 2 replenished throughout the winter period as necessary. At the end of the winter, all grit bins are collected, cleaned and stored away during the summer months. 1.15 Cross Borough boundary salting arrangements are set out in paragraph 6.7. 1.16 The treatment of the M4 motorway and the on/off 4 slip roads at Junction 11 is the responsibility of Highways England and their agent. The Junction 11/A33 gyratory, A33 carriageway and bus lanes within the Borough boundary are included within the Council’s Primary Salting Network. Winter Service Plan 2019 -2020 3 2 POLICY STATEMENT